– Staff and Board

Editor, Streetsblog CaliforniaMelanie Curry

Melanie worked for many years as an editor, before joining the Streetsblog team in February of 2014, most recently for Access, the University of California-published transportation research magazine. She has a Masters degree in City and Regional Planning from UC Berkeley and has worked in transportation consulting and at the San Francisco County Transportation Authority. She was a finalist for online journalist of the year in 2014 award given by the Center for California Studies. Follow her on twitter @currymel

Executive Director,
California Streets InitiativeDamien Newton

Damien is the first editor of Streetsblog Los Angeles, the impact journalism site that’s bringing better transportation options to the City of Angels. Before moving west, he was the NJ Coordinator for the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, and he has lent his media relations know-how to a number of advocacy campaigns. Damien holds a Masters of Arts in Public Communications from American University and was a 2011 Annenberg School of Journalism “Online Health Journalism Fellow.” Follow Damien on Twitter @damientypes.

Editor, Streetsblog San FranciscoRoger Rudick

Roger has edited Streetsblog San Francisco since 2015. His transit and safe-streets coverage has also appeared in the New York Times, PBS, and NPR. He’s filed dispatches on bike infrastructure everywhere from Rotterdam to Vancouver.

Editor, Streetsblog Los Angeles
Joe Linton

Joe Linton is a longtime urban environmental activist. His main areas of interest have been restoring the Los Angeles River and fostering bicycling for everyday transportation. He’s worked for many Los Angeles livability non-profits, including Friends of the L.A. River, Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, C.I.C.L.E., Livable Places, and CicLAvia. He also served as deputy to Los Angeles City Councilmember Ed Reyes.

Communities Editor, Streetsblog Los Angeles

Sahra Sulaiman

Sahra is an ethnographic researcher by training (an M.A. and A.B.D. in International Relations from USC) and a long-time volunteer with teens in LAUSD schools. She uses qualitative data to explore the obstacles that conspire to keep residents in lower-income communities of color from being able to safely access their streets. She also works to introduce readers to the unique grassroots efforts of local residents, community leaders, and local organizations to address some of these issues on their own. In doing so, she hopes to underscore the need for attention to equity in planning and to open up lines of communication between city agencies and residents of areas of Los Angeles that have been neglected for too long. Her work has been cited or re-printed in publications around the city and she has been honored for excellence by the Los Angeles Press Club every year since 2013. Sahra can be reached at sahra@streetsblog.org or follow her on twitter @sahrasulaiman.

Reporter, SGV ConnectKris Fortin

Kristopher Fortin has a long and storied career with Streetsblog having previously covered Orange County for Streetsblog California and Boyle Heights for Streetsblog Los Angeles. Kris has also been published in the Orange County Register, Vice, Mitú and other news outlets in Southern California. Kris currently leads our efforts to publish and broadcast in the San Gabriel Valley with Damien Newton. Kris also works with Santa Ana Active Streets.

Our Partners with Open Plans

Publisher
Mark Gorton

Mark is the founder of Tower Research Capital LLC, a money management firm specializing in quantitative trading and investment strategies, as well as the founder of Lime Brokerage LLC, Lime Medical LLC and Lime Labs LLC. Mark founded OpenPlans (Streetsblog’s parent non-profit) in 1999 after realizing the incredible potential of the open source movement to create tools that catalyze civic engagement. In his role as Chairman he draws on a strong background in urban transportation advocacy and open media.

EditorGersh Kuntzman

Educated at the Sorbonne and the Yale School of Drama, Gersh Kuntzman is obviously not the person being described here. We’re talking about tabloid legend Gersh Kuntzman, who has been a New York newspaperman since 1989. He joins Streetsblog after stints at the New York Daily News, the New York Post, the Brooklyn Paper and even a cup of coffee with the Times. Gersh is also the writer and producer of “Murder at the Food Coop,” which was a hit at the NYC Fringe Festival in 2016, and “SUV: The Musical,” which was also a hit in 2007.

Senior Editor, Streetsblog USA
Kea Wilson

Kea Wilson has more than ten years experience as a writer telling emotional, urgent and actionable stories that motivate average Americans to get involved in making their cities better places. She is also a novelist, cyclist, and affordable housing advocate. She lives in St. Louis, MO, and can be reached at kea@streetsblog.org.